Lung cancer is a disease caused by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. Such cell growth causes metastasis, namely which can invade nearby tissues and infiltrate beyond the lungs. Most primary lung cancers are carcinomas and deriving from epithelial cells. Furthermore, lung cancer, the most common cause of cancer-related death in men and women, is approximately 1.3 million deaths worldwide annually, in accordance with the 2004 statistics.
According to statistics, the five-year survival rate of patients with lung cancer is 17%, for decades almost no improvement. In fact, early diagnosis of lung cancer is difficult. For those with advanced stage lung cancer, chemotherapy has been the main-stay of treatment, and the survival time ranges from about 8 to 13 months in clinical studies. In contrast, with best supportive care (without chemotherapy), survival time is about 4-6 months. However, the true average survival time may be less than the published data, as clinical trials typically enroll younger and medically fit patients.
In the prior art, the conventional medicines used for the treatment of the lung cancer include: cisplatin, docetaxel, etoposide, gefitinib, and erlotinib, etc. However, the aforementioned medicines usually have some side effects, for example some patients will appear in a severe vomit after taking cisplatin such that those medicines are not suitable for long-term use.
Therefore, the current treatment for lung cancer lacks a medicine combined with the curative effect for lung cancer and reducing side effects to patients.